Key hanger for key cases



Dec. 4, 1956 c. E. MORRELL 2,772,559

KEY HANGER FOR KEY CASES Original Filed May 17, 1951 INVENTOR CLYDE E- MORRELL BY 6 ATTORNEYS KEY HANGER FOR KEY CASES Clyde E. Morrell, Southbridge, Mass., assignor to Buxton, Incorporated, Springfield, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Original application May 17, 1951, Serial No. 226,870, now Patent No. 2,657,568, dated November 3, 1953. Divided and this application September 14, 1953, Serial No. 379,863

1 Claim. (Cl. 70-458) This invention relates to an improvement in key hangers for releasably connecting keys to key hanger supports which in turn are secured to key cases.

In the type of key hanger and support to which the present invention has reference the hangers, in the form of loops or hooks, are formed with shanks provided with enlarged heads. The supports are provided with one or more slots of less width than the heads of the hangers and into which the shanks of the hangers are introduced by way of enlarged openings through which the heads may pass.

Heretofore devices of this general character have been made up from parts stamped from metal. Various attempts have been made to provide structures for the purpose which could be molded or otherwise formed from organic plastic materials. In general these efforts have attempted to follow the prior practices employed with metal, that is the provision of spring actuated movable parts to control the attachment and detachment of the hangers to and from the support. These efforts have resulted in relatively bulky constructions which have not proved practical for commercial use and have entailed the use of expensive molds and difficult molding operations. The advantages of appearance, durability and economy which the synthetic plastics possess have not therefor been made practically available.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a key hanger construction which can be molded as one piece in a single molding operation, and which is adaptable for use with key hanger supports molded from plastic, such as is shown and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 226,870, filed May 17, 1951, now Patent No. 2,657,568, and of which the present application is a division. I

A further object is to provide a construction, having the above advantages, in which the hangers may be easily and quickly attached to, or detached from, the support at the will of the user.

A further object, apart from making organic synthetic plastics available for its construction, is the provision of a key hanger which can be made in one piece, and which will securely hold the key against accidental detachment therefrom while permitting easy intentional detachment.

Other and further objects residing in the details of the form of the hanger will be made apparent in the following specification and claim.

In the accompanying drawings which show an illustrative embodiment of the invention:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a key case to which is secured a key hanger support such as is disclosed in the said copending application with a key hanger embodying the present invention attached thereto, parts of the cover of the case being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a detail view of the key hanger opened to receive a key, an intermediate position of the parts in closing the hanger being shown in dotted lines;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to that of Fig. 2 but with the hanger closed; and

Fig. 4 is a top view of the hanger in closed position.

2,772,559 Patented Dec; 4, 1956 Referring to the drawings, the support is shown as comprising spaced side members 1 connected by spaced transverse members 2. Centered between the members 2 are pairs of opposed members 3, projecting from side members 1 and spaced from members 2 to provide transverse key hanger retaining slots 4 at each side of the members 3, the ends of the slots being closed by the side members 1. The free ends of members 3 are shaped to provide .openings 5, enlarged as compared with the width of the slots 4 to permit passage of the head of a key hanger of the type above described. The openings 5 are connected to the adjacent slots 4 by slits 6 formed betwen the adjacent ends of members 3, which slits are narrower than the slots 4 so that the shanks of the key hangers cannot normally enter the slits either from the slots 4 or the openings 5. The opposed members or fingers 3 extending freely from the side members 1 are capable of being sprung apart, due to the resilience of the material from which the support is formed, to increase the effective width of the slits and permit passage of the shank of a key hanger in either direction between the openings 5 and either of the adjacent slots 4. Thus to insert a hanger in the support it is only necessary to introduce the head of the hanger through one of the enlarged openings 5 and, with the shank of the hanger positioned at the entrance to one of the slits 6, to press the hanger sidewise with sufficient force to cause the opposed parts or fingers 3 to separate, against the spring resistance of the material, permitting the shank of the hanger to be moved along the slit 6 until it enters the adjacent slot 4. When the hanger enters the slot the members 3 spring back into place, confining the hanger to the slot until it is forced back through the slit for removal through the enlarged opening.

Figs. 2, 3 and 4 show the preferred form of key hanger. The hanger of the latter figures comprises a length of flexible material 15 provided at one end with a head 16 and at the other with a loop 17 through which the head 16 can be inserted or withdrawn by flexing the length of material as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. Preferably the end portion which carries the head 16 is also provided with a shoulder 18 of a size to prevent its passing through the opening in loop 17.

When the parts of the hanger are in the position shown in Fig. 2 a key (not shown) may be easily threaded over the head 16 onto the hanger after which the hanger is closed by passing the head 16 through the loop 17 as described, thus locking the key in the noose 19. The shoulder functions to prevent the noose being drawn tightly on the key or subjecting the material to too sharp a bend. Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 1, the shoulder 18 limits the extent to which the head and shank of the holder may enter the slots 4 or openings 5 of the support.

The structure of the loop shown permits it to be molded from a suitable synthetic organic plastic. The plastic is molded in substantially the form shown in Fig. 2 so that the material is in only slightly strained condition when the parts are in the position of Fig. 3. Preferably, and as shown, the loop 17 is formed as a projection 20 extending at approximately a right angle from the end of the noose, the projection being provided with a circular aperture 21 forming the loop through which the head 16 is passed.

Nylon and Tenite are suitable synthetic organic plastics from which the support and loop may be formed, but other plastic materials possessing similar qualities of toughness, flexibility and resilience may be employed.

What is claimed is:

A key hanger formed of organic synthetic plastic unitarily molded in the form of a loop, one end of said loop being provided with an enlarged head and a shoulder spaced therefrom of greater transverse dimension than the head, the other end of the loop being provided with a projection extending substantially at right angles thereto in the direction of the other end portion of the loop and formed with anaperture dimensioned to permit passage ofsaidhead therethrough but not said shoulder, the portion of said loop intermediate said projection and shoulder possessing sufficient resilience and flexibility to permit distortion of the loop away from the projection a distance at least equal to the distance between the shoul der and free end of the head to permitthe latterto be inserted through and withdrawn from said aperture.

References Cited in the file of this patent "UNITED "STATES PATENTS 

